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Dalata focuses on growth in two key destinations

The 212-room hotel Clayton Hotel City of London is set to open on Jan. 24. Photo credit: Dalata Hotel Group

It's been a good month for Irish hotel operator Dalata so far. With more than 8,000 rooms across 29 owned hotels, 10 leased hotels and three management contracts, the company is still growing, with nine new hotels and more than 2,300 rooms slated to open over the next three years in the UK and Dublin.

In total, the company could reach 8,000 new rooms across 20 cities in the UK, Davy Stockbrokers analyst Joseph Quinn told the Irish Independent.

New UK Opening

At the beginning of the year, the company completed the acquisition of a new hotel in London's Aldgate neighborhood as part of its £91-million expansion across the city.

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The 212-room hotel Clayton Hotel City of London is set to open on Jan. 24.

The Irish-based hotel group announced the deal in August, saying it would pay about €100 million for London-based company Hintergard, which owns the 300-year leasehold of the hotel.

Dublin Signing

This week, Dalata entered into arrangements to lease a new 200-room hotel in the Dublin docklands, close to the Convention Centre, the International Financial Services Centre and the 3Arena.

The hotel will be part of the Spencer Place project, which is poised to cover more than 1 million square feet and is being developed by a joint venture of Ronan Group Real Estate and Colony Capital. The mixed-use development will include a hotel, restaurants and retail units as well as 500,000 square feet of office space.

The company did not officially announce a brand for the upcoming Dublin property, but did say that it would operate within the Dalata portfolio with “bespoke branding” consistent with the broader Spencer Place development.

Construction of the hotel has already started with a target opening in late-2020. Dalata will operate the hotel on a 35-year lease, subject to five-year rent reviews.

"The Dublin hotel market as a whole continues to perform very well and we are pleased that we will be bringing another quality hotel to the city," said Dalata deputy CEO Dermot Crowley.

Dalata's Growth

For the first half of 2018, Dalata reported revenue of €180.6 million and a profit (after tax) of €30.5 million, putting it on track to surpass the €348.5 million revenue from 2017 once the full 2018 numbers have been tallied.

Dalata has been growing its footprint in the UK, opening hotels in both Belfast and Newcastle last year. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) at Dalata's UK hotels grew by 3.2 percent through November.

Dublin accounted for 58 percent of the company's €348.5 million revenue in 2017, and RevPAR at its hotels in the Irish capital increased 8.8 percent in the first 11 months of 2018 compared to overall market growth of 7.4 percent. Last November, Dalata opened the 189-bedroom Clayton Hotel Charlemont in Dublin at a cost of €40 million. The Maldron Hotel Kevin Street in Dublin opened in July and achieved occupancy levels of more than 90 percent in September and October. Construction of the Maldron Hotel Merrion Road, Dublin, and its residential units will begin in this quarter.